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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ball · band · stem · kick · mine · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. band — a music group
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. stem — to come from
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. ball — a great time
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. band — a ring
  13. ball — a dance
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. toast — bread
  18. ball — a round shape

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com